Sunday, July 29, 2012

We've had a very Busy week or so - AND sunny, warm weather, which makes everything so very much easier. Well -except having to stay indoors and work when being outside would be so much nicer. We have been out enough to get a good dose of sunshine though and it’s blissful!

We've sent boxes and boxes of supplies for our workshops at Belcastel off to France and hopefully, we haven’t forgotten anything important. I’m not really going to know until I unpack at the other end. This time next week, we’ll be at the Chateau, no doubt wishing we spoke more French! It IS all very exciting.

We received the first advance copies of Trolls a few days ago. It’s just wonderful to actually see the book looking like a book - and looking just as we hoped it would. We hope all of you who eventually get a copy will enjoy it as much as we do. We couldn’t be happier with it! It is available for pre-order through Amazon or Signed Copies can be pre-ordered through AFA NYC.

We attended Brian’s sister Carol’s wedding in Cornwall last weekend. It was a lovely event with music and costumes and again, glorious weather. Congratulations Carol and Alan!

I really want to tell you all about the Step Out Walk for Diabetes that is going to take place on September 22nd. Toby and Sarah are going to walk for it and Toby is going to try walking three miles on stilts. I can’t imagine doing something like that but I’m personally amazingly grateful that he and Sarah want to support this. I have a personal reason for this. I’m type one diabetic - that’s the kind you usually get as a child or young person – totally dependant on insulin. I got this at a very late age - only four years ago - and I’ve been on a very steep learning curve since then, trying to adjust to an insulin routine and still carrying on working as much as I do. Actually, it’s working out really well. I’ve had absolutely wonderful care and support from my family and friends and the whole medical team who look after me. And the faeries. I know that they keep a close eye on me as well. So - that’s why this fundraising event is close to my heart. We would love any support you can give to Toby and Sarah’s team. Come and walk with them - and wear your wings! They’re called the Blood Sugar Plum Faeires and you’ll be able to purchase a tee shirt with a Brian Froud faery on it to show your support soon. I’m going to be a virtual walker. There’s more information here http://main.diabetes.org/goto/Faerie

And finally -Sneezle wanted me to show you something he’s very proud of. He says he grew these toadstools all by himself. I have my doubts about that, but I wouldn’t want to say that to him. He looks so proud and happy!

That’s all for now. The next time I write, it hopefully will be from Belcastel!

Friday, July 20, 2012

It’s sunny today! Hard to believe after the weather we’ve been having but today we have summer. I take that back. I just looked out of the window and it’s starting to raid.

Be that as it may - I went out into the garden this morning and came across a rather frightening sight. Sneezle was being menaced by a group of strange looking little aliens! They had him backed up against the stone obelisk and he looked terrified. I took a photo and waited to see what would happen (I know -not very nice of me but I knew I’d have time to intervene if things got serious).

They started jumping around and it was obvious that they were trying to tell him something. All of a sudden, one of them jumped into his arms and then of course it was obvious - they could be played like bagpipes! Sneezle is luckily quite proficient on the bagpipes and soon they were happily dancing to the traditional tunes of Old Oak Wood. I don’t know where they came from, and I have the feeling that they won’t stay for very long, but I expect there will be some pretty interesting music making until they decide to leave. They are just in time for the Chagstock music festival, which starts tomorrow outside our village. They’re too small for the big stage there, but in a smaller venue (a tree stump perhaps) I think they would do very well indeed.

Now - you may think they look like sprouting potatoes, but I assure you, they are SO much more than that!

Our friend Todd and his son David have been doing us a great favour by taking ivy off of the barn wall, which has been covered up since about 1982. It’s a massive job and they are heroically battling insects, spiders and irate birds to get back to the granite surface.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

I took advantage of the fact that we had a moment (literally) of sun today and Elfie and I drove (well, I drove –he panted) on to the moor just to see if it was still there. It was. We explored Hound Tor and got tangled in bracken and found crystals to bring home and chased a squirrel. I took these photos of hound tor and a small troll tor to show those of you who haven’t seen them before (and that’s probably quite a few of you). And if you have, well, that’s fine too. They are always worth another look! Now that we’ve finished the “Trolls” book, I can’t see these without thinking about the trolls that live on or in them, especially the little tor with the stone wall winding up to it. I’m sure if I watched for long enough, the troll would become completely visible. As it is, I certainly can see that he’s sleeping under a blanket of grass.

After the excitement of the squirrel and the tors, we drove on and took very winding roads that I really wasn't familiar with at all. Dartmoor can seem very big at times! Needless to say, I was soon totally lost -in fact I thought I’d ended up in Peru when I saw the llamas in the field but luckily I hadn't gone quite that far astray. Elfie says he knew exactly where we were at all times. I’d like to believe him but somehow I just can’t.

Here’s a photo of Mother Leap obviously telling her friend something quite exciting. I have no idea of what they are talking about. Trolls can be quite secretive.